Only the Beginning
by JensonBensen
Summary: Annabeth and Percy have been married for a few years and are expecting their first kid when there's an accident. Now it's up to their friends to help pick up the pieces. Could be considered a companion to Perspective.
1. Coming Home

_**For the record**__, Annabeth Chase became Annabeth Jackson (or she kept her name… I can't decide, but the changing-of-the-name was more effective for the purpose) approx. three years after the all was resolved with the Lost Hero story arc (I'm not even going to bother and speculate, but I think we can all sort of assume everything is going to work out in the end. That being said, as much as I LOVE the Percy character I would be super impressed with Mr. Riordan if he died… I don't think that will happen, however, because most authors these days don't have the guts to kill major characters, so I think we can totally say this story would fit within the story.)Annabeth and Percy have both gone to college; Annabeth majored in architecture and is going for her doctorate, while Percy majored in marine biology and works at an institute in his spare time. At the time of the story Annabeth is still working on Olympus and Percy spends most of his time working in conjunction with Camp Half-Blood to help rescue and train new demi-gods (especially with swords) while also helping is Dad out around his kingdom. _

He smiled as he looked down at his wife's look of concentration. She was sitting on the floor of their apartment, looking over what appeared to be normal blue prints, but upon closer inspection were actually magical prints in which the roughly sketched building constantly revolved, allowing the designer to see all three-hundred and sixty degrees of the design. She didn't seem to notice as her husband walked toward her, calling her name. Finally, with a grin on his face, he reached a hand to cup her chin, forcing her to look up. Her startled grey eyes met his green ones, annoyance melting into joy and then slight annoyance again.

"Percy, I," he shushed her and knelt down so they were now on eye level. He used his thumb to trace the bags under her eyes, sighing as he did so.

"You look tired," he said, a smile appearing on his face as her lips formed a slight pout. "When was the last time you slept?"

"But I don't have time to sleep! Olympus…" she began, but was once again cut off.

"Won't fall out of the sky if you rest for one night," he smiled, "Please Annabeth, you need to take care of yourself especially since it's not just you anymore..." his voice trailed off, his eyes quickly looking toward her stomach.

She looked as if she was about to argue, but then relented and took her husband's hand as they both stood up. She hugged him, resting her head on his chest.

"I'm glad your back," she whispered, "I hate it when you leave."

"Hey it's ok," he used his soothing voice while using his hands to rub her lower back, "I don't like leaving you either, but sometimes my Dad needs me." Then he cleared his throat, "Though you know after me and my Dad took care of Atlantis he took me for a quick visit on Olympus and it looks amazing! Seriously, wise girl, you are doing an amazing job!" as he finished his voice was full of reverence.

She peeked up at him through her lashes and whispered, "Thanks Seaweed Brain." The use of his nickname made him laugh while his wife enjoyed the comfort of his shaking chest.

"Hey, what so you say about you and me going out to dinner, maybe a movie, something that has nothing to do with the gods or monsters or our life really?"

She laughed at the slight downturn of his mouth as he finished talking, "It's I you know?"

"What?" he asked, confusion wiping away his normal confident attitude

"You used the word me like twice when it should have been I," she smiled as realization lit up his features and simply took a step back, keeping her right hand in his as she dragged him out of the apartment.

"Annoying daughter of Athena," he mumbled.

"Oh you know you love it!" she replied turning to see his face soften.

"Yeah," a huge smile spread across his face, "I really do."

* * *

Annabeth's PoV

I stared at my sleeping husband's head in my lap. We had been watching a movie on the couch when I looked down to see him asleep, an adorable look on his face. I began to comb my fingers through his hair noticing that when he slept he looked almost exactly like the drooling twelve-year old he was when I first met him. He shifted a little in his sleep, a frown appearing on his face and I sighed cursing myself for not noticing how tired he was before now, especially since I knew what the Curse of Achilles did to him.

As I looked at him I let all the emotions I had been repressing over the past few weeks hit me. I had really missed him. Which isn't to say I wasn't really proud of him and the work he was doing for all the new demi-gods and the quests for his father, I mean when he wasn't saving some kid from being killed he was out saving the oceans or befriending a sea creature or gods know what else, but I couldn't help but miss him while he did it. But I would never say anything about it because I know how happy his job made him. I could see how much having his father's and the other gods' respect meant to him. These days even the gods who had shown such animosity before seemed to have changed their minds, Zeus even admitted he was glad he had decided not to kill Percy all those years ago.

Despite this, however, I still worried about what these quests might be doing to him. With the whole Achilles thing he was bound to get tired faster and Percy was the type of person who made pushing way past his limits a recreational sport. Not to mention anyone who talked to him for five minutes could tell you he would do anything to save even one life. Then there was also the emotional issues that worried me, because I know how much it hurt him to leave me so often and how the fact that I was pregnant just made it so much worse.

Suddenly his eyes fluttered open and he smiled up at me. He tried to get up but I put my hands on his shoulder to keep him down.

"How was your nap?" I asked cheerfully.

"Not nearly as great as waking up," he replied, causing me to giggle.

"Gods Seaweed Brain, you are all about the corny lines!" I chuckled again.

"Hey, don't blame me if you children of Athena aren't any good with your feelings!" with this he got up lightning fast, surprising me with a light kiss. As he tried to pull away I forced him to stay in place making the kiss deeper.

When we finally broke apart he sat back and looked me up and down, ending with his eyes on face. I was beginning to wonder if he was going to say anything when he finally settled on, "So how are you actually doing? I mean no sugar-coating or anything."

It took me a moment to work out what he meant, but when I did I laughed and said, "You mean with the baby?"

"Yes I mean with the baby," as he said the word baby his voice filled with reverence, like he couldn't believe his luck.

"Everything is fine Percy! I've only just began the second trimester! I'm not really even showing!" I laughed at the excited look on his face.

"Are you going to find out the gender? I mean if you want to wait that's cool, I mean not that I'm saying that I don't want to wait, I just mean… I uh…" I had to admit it was kind of cute to see him floundering like that, especially since he had grown into such a confident man. I reached out a hand to his face, but he refused to look me in the eye.

"Percy," I murmured, strengthening my voice as I tried again, "Percy, listen to me!" his eyes moved to meet mine, "Percy I know you're worried about me and that you a part of you feels like I resent you or something for, gods I don't know, ruining my life or whatever," I stopped wondering if I could sound any less eloquent, but at the look in Percy's eyes I shook it off and continued, "but I am honestly happy! I mean really amazingly happy! I know how I reacted really badly when I first found out about me being pregnant, but I was just in shock!" I searched Percy's eyes and upon seeing that there was still doubt I grabbed his hand with both of mine and, with my voice cracking, said, "Please believe me Percy! Please, I…"

He shushed me as he raised his free hand to my face and brushed away the tears that had begun to stream down my face and said, "I believe you, really I do, I," his voice trailed off and his eyebrows knitted together, "will you please stop crying?" he begged, sadness marked his voice. I had forgotten how much he couldn't stand to see me, or anyone he cared for, cry. It wasn't some stupid masculine thing, just a his fatal flaw being about other people sort of thing.

I gave him a watery smile and kissed him, "so you believe me now?"

"Yeah I do, but I still have a question," I looked at him preparing myself for what was coming, "when are we going to tell people? Seriously Annabeth, if you say you're happy I'll believe you, but I don't think we can continue hiding it for much longer. We should celebrate with our friends and family, though, admittedly, you have to wonder what the chances are of your mom not already knowing, or even my Dad because well, you know, they're _gods_."

"I guess there is no reason not to, but I mean what are they going to say?" He chuckled, "I imagine they would say congratulations, you've been married for over two years, what took so long?" He shook me a little bit and I could help but answer his encouraging smile with a laugh of my own. We stayed in each other's arms on our couch for the rest of the night, simply talking and enjoying being together again.

* * *

"Well after two years we were starting to wonder if it was ever going to happen," Nico said. Thalia punched him in the arm.

"He means congratulations," she sighed, "I mean really you two," she turned to us, "I am so happy for you!" She leaned over and hugged us, which shocked us to no end.

"Wow, Thalia, the Hunters have really helped mellow you out," Percy said, while I laughed under my breath.

"Hey," she said with both hands raised, "a girl can change!"

"Well maybe a girl could, but we were asking about you," Percy tugged one of Thalia's spikes and I gasped.

"Oh you are so going to get it," I whispered and Nico looked like he was ready to explode from laughter.

"Your wife is right, Jackson!" Thalia said, her voice reaching intimidating levels of anger. We looked at her and could see lightning in her electric blue eyes.

"She gets more like her father every day doesn't she?" Percy turned to me and I just shook my head.

"Hey you guys, maybe we should take this elsewhere you know? I would hate to see some poor mortals burnt to a crisp," Nico stood up trying to pull Thalia with him. Percy and I got up as well and Percy turned to place a few dollars on the table, then the four of us hurried out of the small cafe.

* * *

"Well that was fun," I said, waiting for my husband's reply. I turned around to see him immobilized as he stared up at the apartment complex we were in front of. My worry turned into understanding as I realized what building we were at. I laughed as I realized that I had been so zoned out that I hadn't realized Percy and I had reached our destination, the apartment Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis shared.

I walked over to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "It was you who wanted to tell everyone and that includes your parents!"

"I know," his voice was shaking, "I just clearly never thought it through!"

"It's going to be fine!" I said as I began to pull him through the door to the apartments. We arrived at Sally's door in almost no time and I knocked. Percy looked like he was ready to faint.

When Sally came to the door her radiant face became breathtaking with a wide smile, "Percy! Annabeth! How are you? Wait, why are you here? Oh please tell me there isn't some new enemy!"

"Oh no Sally, it's nothing like that! Actually it's the opposite. We have news… good news," I reassured my mother-in-law as she let us into the apartment. Paul called his greetings from the kitchen and we all sat down on the couch. Sally offered us something to drink, but we declined, well actually I declined as Percy was still too shell-shocked to control the most basic motor functions.

"So what is it that you have to tell us?" Sally asked, her bright eyes shining more than usual.

"Well the thing is," I began while taking a quick peek at Percy, "we're… well we… um… we're…"

Finally Percy woke up and said, "We are going to have a baby."

We spent the next hour in Sally's apartment receiving congratulations and hugs. There was some crying, especially between me and Sally, and even though he would completely deny it later, I'm sure I saw Percy shedding a few tears too. When we finally left we both felt so happy and so loved. When we went back to the apartment we called my Dad in San Francisco and a similar pattern followed, except without all the hugs.

After another few hours of Iris-messaging, we were finally able to go to bed. We tried to sleep, but after ten minutes we both realized we were way too wired, so we decided to talk instead. We talked about everything, catching up on the past few weeks that we had spent apart. I was sitting against the head board and he was lying in my arms, talking excitedly about Atlantis. I couldn't help but be amazed by Percy's stories. He sounded so adult, talking about weather patterns and newly discovered fish, but what was even cuter was the look on his face when he started talking about camp. He told me about some of the new arrivals and how amazing camp was now that the Gods had recommitted to the promise they had make to Percy after the battle with Kronos. We continued in this fashion until his dreamy voice faded. When I looked down I saw that he was asleep and I smiled. As I tried to disentangle myself, I saw him shift in his sleep.

"Don't go," he pleaded with the slurred speech that results from being semiconscious, "I feel safe when you're here!"

I shushed him and kissed his forehead, "I'm not going anywhere Seaweed Brain, I promise," then I closed my eyes, but not before I saw him smile in relief.

* * *

"So where exactly are you taking me again?" I knew asking again was probably pointless, but I couldn't help it.

"Well to be again I would probably have to have told you in the first place," he turned to me with an infuriatingly smug look on his face.

"You know I am the woman carrying your children right? I mean aren't you supposed to be nice to me?" I knew it was a low blow because Percy spent pretty much all of his time worrying about me these days, but I couldn't help but feel a certain satisfaction when I saw his face fall.

"But," his forehead wrinkled, "it'll be better this way," then he looked over at me guiltily and I could see his will crumbling, "But if you really want to know I guess I could, but…"

I shook my head and sighed, "Fine, Seaweed Brain, we'll play it your way, but you better hope I'm not going to regret it!" I did my best to look intimidating, but he just laughed.

"Alright I'll bite, what exactly is going to happen should you regret it," he smiled, enjoying this new game, but before I could answer I saw his body stiffen. I looked at him, worry causing my stomach to twist in knots. He seemed to be looking at something, but before I could ask or identify the object he looked at me with fear in his eyes. He raised his hand as if he was trying to reach out to me, and then I heard a crash somewhere off in the distance, disconnected to the perfect moment we had just had.

I felt myself flying through the air, but I was only half aware of my surroundings. At some point I thought I might have felt heat, but the darkness that had started to close in on me in the car was getting heavier with each moment, and when I finally succumbed my last thought was of Percy and the look of fear on his face.


	2. A Mortal Hospital

__

Thanks for coming back! Extra cyber-hugs to claire96… She totally knows why! Hope you enjoy the next chapter!

"Good news or bad?"

"Bad"

"How is this possible? A person doesn't just go missing!"

"Actually, if you think about it, this person kind of does… A lot" Smack.

"Hey! Why did you hit me!"

"You were being insensitive! He's like your best friend!"

"Wait. Did you hear that? Annabeth are you awake?"

"False alarm I guess."

"Gods! This is awful! The husband is _missing_ and the wife is a step away from being comatose!"

"Can you blame her? If this had happened to me I don't know if I would want to wake up."

"Don't talk like that!"

"Sorry."

"The baby's fine though, right?"

"Yeah, the baby's fine… For now, at least."

* * *

I woke up to the sound of voices. They sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place them. It was definitely a man and a woman. After the hearing kicked in, I began to really take in my surroundings. I could feel an uncomfortably stiff sheet on my legs. When I moved my right hand, I could tell the blanket was scratchy. My nose detected the smell of industrial strength cleaning chemicals and that of old, sick bodies. It was the kind of smell that you never got used to and belonged to only one kind of place: a mortal hospital. I groaned, but refused to open my eyes, afraid of what I might see. Instead I worried about why I had been taken to a mortal hospital.

As my consciousness grew I became aware of more things, like how stiff my left arm was or the feeling of a tube on my face, forcing oxygen into my nose. I suddenly recognized the voices. It was Thalia and Nico. I listened to more of their conversation. I wish I hadn't. Percy was missing? I had been declared comatose? How long had it been? Then, when they started talking about the baby, I couldn't take it anymore. I opened my eyes, which painfully adjusted to the bright fluorescent lights. Thalia saw this, her face showing immense relief. Nico looked happy too.

"Thank the Gods! You're okay!" one of them said… Or both… I couldn't really tell. My head was spinning too fast.

"What happened?," I croaked. Their faces fell almost immediately. It was clearly the question they had been hoping I wouldn't ask.

Then a man in a wheelchair, who had previously been unnoticed due to his silence, cleared his throat and said, "Annabeth, there was an accident, a bad one. Something, we're not entirely sure what hit yours and Percy's car. It caused it to explode… I… Well… You and the baby sustained very few injuries, all things considered. We suspect Percy must have used some of his water powers to protect you, but," he swallowed, "we haven't been able to find any trace of Percy anywhere."

_Oh no! Is Percy ok? Is he still alive? Do you want to know? If you do, then you should most definitely review! Now, I'm not saying that if you don't you will never get to find out what happens but… Seriously though, if you want to know if Percy is dead or not, I'll tell you right now. So do you want to know? O.k. Percy is_


	3. A Missing Hero

_So I thought you might want to know what the gods were thinking but I swear Percy will be speaking in the next chapter… Annabeth too… So hope you enjoyed it! (P.S. - Have you ever noticed that Percy goes missing a lot… Like in the books too… It's sort of weird right?)_

"Did you find our young hero?"

"Yesss master. I must say it was brilliant of you to orchestrate the car accident. The explosion provided the perfect cover."

"Yes, many forget how hard it is to burn those born of the sea. Though of course there was one mistake."

"I… ugh… master?"

"The wife. The WIFE! She wasn't supposed to survive!"

"I… It wasn't my fault! He used his power to save her! He created a water shield to protect her from the fire. If I had stopped to kill her there wouldn't have had time to steal him! Would you have had me leave him! Your plan would have been ruined! I…"

"ENOUGH! It is regrettable that she lives, but we can do nothing about that now! Stop your groveling and go see if our new prisoner is awake!"

"Yesss, I live to serve."

* * *

(Throne Room of Olympus)

"Has he been found?" asked Zeus, thunder booming in the background.

"Father, you must calm yourself," Zeus turned to Athena, glaring.

"How can we be calm? Do you not see what this means? Our enemies have grown so arrogant as to kidnap our chosen champion! Whoever did this wants attention!"

"Or war," Aries added, his fiery eyes oddly dark, "If you wanted to hurt your enemy who better than to take the one who had done the most to defend them. Father is right, it sends a message."

"We must not be to rash!" Demeter cried, "It is a pity that he is missing certainly, but he is but one mortal. One who has fought many battles, and has made many enemies."

"So callous, Demeter," they turned to see Aphrodite sniffing in the corner.

"You're just upset that this is affecting one of your favorite couples!" Athena spat, shocking many in the room.

"He is your daughter's husband! The father of your grandchild! Athena, how can you?" asked Hermes. He gave her a look of disgust like he was truly seeing her for the first time. Just as Athena was about to defend herself Poseidon cut her off.

"And we are positive he is not dead, right?" His voice was heavy with emotion. He refused to meet any of their eyes and for a moment they said nothing. They had no idea how to deal with the pain of their fellow god, for few of them had ever ben as close to their child has he was to his.

"Brother," it was Hades who finally spoke. Poseidon looked at him, "He is not dead. I would know it if he had crossed into my kingdom." Poseidon just nodded and turned around. The others stared at his back, again falling into an awkward silence.

"We have to come up with a plan. We have always kept up a policy of non-involvement, however, as many of you have pointed out, this is not exactly a normal situation," Artemis looked around at her fellow gods.

"Perhaps a vote will help to decide what we should do," Hestia supplied.

"Do? We do nothing! We don't get involved," Demeter shouted, "it has always worked before."

"But that's the problem, these things always work until they don't," a few of them looked at Hermes warily; the gods had never been comfortable with change.

"We can't just change everything because we our worried! Apollo," Demeter turned to the oddly silent sun god, "what do you think? Has there been a prophesy? Have you had any flashes of the future? What about your oracle?"

"No and it worries me," the other gods' fear suddenly increased, Apollo's voice was so rarely serious. "Whoever is behind this is doing a very good job of blocking out visions and that involves serious knowledge of magic."

"You see! How can we walk into something so blind?"

"Calm yourself Demeter!" Zeus yelled, "We must give more thought to this matter. We won't get anywhere by acting too quickly."

"So we will do nothing," Poseidon's voice was emotionless.

"A refreshing change, to be sure," added Hermes, his voice devoid of humor.

"Not nothing! We will continue to search, but until we have more information that is all we will do," again thunder boomed, emphasizing the words of Zeus.

The gods began to disband, one or two of them stopping to murmur something encouraging to Poseidon. Eventually, only Poseidon, Zeus, and Athena remained in the room.

"Will you be alright brother?" Zeus asked uncomfortably, he was more accustomed to fighting with his brother than comforting him.

"Oh I will be fine," Poseidon replied, his voice sardonic, "is tragedy not the fate of most heroes?"

"We do not know that this will lead to tragedy. There is still some hope," but Zeus only half believed it, "regardless, the both of you are completely within your rights to visit Earth… to see Annabeth." Then Zeus left the room, giving the other two time to speak.

"Will you go visit your daughter?" Poseidon looked at Athena. Out of all the gods her behavior in this situation confused him the most. She was most definitely upset, but at what, he had no clue.

"Yes, but not now… I… She needs time. Will you?" Athena struggled to meet Poseidon's eyes.

"Do you think she would appreciate my presence? In a situation like this, I'd hate to do more damage."

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that question. I do not know my daughter as well as I would like, as well as you know your son. Our relationship has been strained… I"

"There is still time. We have ignored our children for much too long; Hermes learned that lesson the hard way."

"Perhaps you are right," Athena walked over and placed a hand on Poseidon's shoulder. "I must go, but should you need anything," and then she disappeared.

Sighing, Poseidon ran a hand through his hair and then chuckled. "Tragedy really does bring people together doesn't it?" he sighed again, "I swear on the River Styx that you will be found, son, so please be strong."

_Right so there you are! Just dying to know who the villain is? Well review and make sure to check back for the next chapter coming to a fanfic near you!_


	4. It Get's Worse

_So here we are again! You look good! Have you lost weight? You look like you've lost weight…_

_Again, thanks to: claire96 (your commitment is most DEFINITELY appreciated), C-Nuggets N.L (who isn't as bad of a guesser as them might think…), booklover484 (I dig the minimalistic approach), percabeth4evr (enthusiasm much appreciated), and AnnabethChaserocks (worry not my dear!)._

_Oh also, the reason Annabeth would be in a mortal hospital is that the accident was in a public area so ambulances would have arrived before mythological help would have arrived. Plus, I imagine she wouldn't be able to go on the normal nectar/ambrosia regimen because of the baby._

"I just need to hear this one more time," I said while pressing my fingers to my temples.

"Annabeth, we have told you all that we know… Like five times!" Thalia hit Nico's arm again. As much as I appreciated her solidarity, I was starting to worry that his arm might never recover. I'm pretty sure he had been hit ten times in the last hour. "_Why_ do you always hit me?"

"Because you _always _deserve it!" replied Thalia. Nico looked like he wanted to say something but stopped when he saw Thalia take out her knife and start cleaning it. "You want to say something, Nico." I was about to turn around and ask Percy to intervene, but then I remembered. I looked down at the scratchy hospital sheets and began picking at the fibers. Chiron seemed to be the only one who noticed my sudden change of mood and placed a comforting hand on mine.

"Has," I swallowed, "has anyone contacted Grover? I mean, he might know something… Or sense something." The three looked at each other and Chiron sighed. Thalia and Nico seemed to be having a silent conversation when Thalia raised her hand as if to hit him again. He winced and then turned to me, "We were kind of hoping you wouldn't ask that."

My heart stopped. "Has something happened to Grover?"

"No, it's nothing like that, it's just," his forehead creased, "there's kind of an additional problem with this whole Percy situation. See, the thing is, whoever took him, and we are sure he was taken… You know, as opposed to the other option… The one I can guarantee didn't happen…"

"You got a point Nico?" I immediately regretted my angry tone. I knew he was just as worried about Percy as I was, well maybe not as worried, but he was definitely upset. "I mean, go on."

He nodded, "Right well it seems that _they _have a lot of power. Enough to interrupt the empathy link between Percy and Grover. As far as we can tell, it is still there. Grover is sure that Percy is still alive, but beyond that it's sort of… Well Grover described it as fuzzy." Nico ran a hand through his hair; it reminded me of Percy so much that I wanted to cry. "It's got Grover really scared. He's going through cans like you wouldn't believe!"

"But empathy links are known for being a little unreliable aren't they?" I could hear the desperation in my voice but I didn't care. I felt like I was seconds away from drowning and I really needed something to hang on to.

"I'm afraid it goes a lot deeper than that my dear," said Chiron, "it's not just affecting Grover. Rachel can't sense anything either."

"And what does that mean, exactly?" I was so afraid I knew, but I had to hear it out loud.

"If the Oracle of Delphi can't sense anything, then the Gods probably can't either." I looked at Chiron, hoping he would say something encouraging, but he just looked at me sadly. Maybe it was just the unflattering light, but I realized he looked really old… and sad. I suddenly pictured Chiron's life. Find a hero, befriend the hero, train the hero, go to the hero's funeral, repeat. It had just never occurred to me that I would have to be part of that cycle.

"Annabeth are you okay?" Chiron asked gently.

"Oh sure," my voice sounded dead, "my husband has been kidnapped by someone… something powerful enough to blind the gods… Not to mention, I'm several months pregnant and stuck in a hideous mortal hospital… Yup, it's just an awesome day to be a half-blood."

* * *

**(Percy P.o.V.)**

I woke up on the floor in a substantial amount of pain. I also noticed I was alone. I was about to call for Annabeth, but I realized that might not be the best idea. In a situation like this, quiet was probably best. I tried to move my left hand an inch to the side but was suddenly hit with a bolt of energy. It was agony. Through a lot of careful shifting I was able to slowly sit myself up and check out my surroundings. I looked down to see chains around both of my wrists and gingerly tried to raise my hand. Again I was hit by the painful energy. I inspected the chains more closely and realized there were markings all over them. It reminded me of the blocks used to build the Hecate cabin. Magic… I really hate magic. (I've met one to many evil sorceresses in my life.)

I continued to look around me and realized I was in some sort underground chamber. That would have been uncomfortable all on its own, but what was worse was how dry it felt. As a son of Poseidon I have a way with water. This has helped save my life too many times to count but it also has a downside. When I'm away from it, I get weaker. It's similar to what most people would feel in a room with low oxygen. I hardly notice it most of the time though. It's actually kind of hard to find a place with absolutely no humidity, rain, or at least one body of water. The point is, whoever is keeping me here, was able to create exactly those conditions, find a location in which I couldn't even feel the sea, and that kind of scared me.

"I see the guest of honor as woken up at last!" I looked around for a speaker, but could see none. It was definitely a man, but after that I was clueless. "Oh I don't think I'll let you see me just yet… We've met, you see, and if you knew who I was it might ruin the fun." I tried to speak, but my throat was too dry.

"Don't try to speak, not yet anyway." I ignored him, I was always really bad with instructions. "What did you do with Annabeth?"

"Hmm… Well I admit your wife is a bit of a problem, but I'm sure that can be fixed."

"What have you done with her? I swear whatever it is you'll experience tenfold!" He just laughed. I was really starting to dislike this guy.

"Oh don't worry about her, she's fine. In fact, I'd even be willing to promise that she will stay that way if you agree to cooperate." I wanted to say no, but he was threatening Annabeth.

"I'll take your silence as a good sign. You see, I've got plans for this world, big plans. See, I want to remake it. I'd give you the whole the-gods-are-bad spiel, but we both know you've already heard it, so let's get down to basics. I was hoping I could just ride the coat tails of Kronos to power, but then, well you already know that didn't pan out. Then I had a similar plan when Gaea tried her little bid for power, but then that unfortunately failed as well. I was starting to get desperate when I realized, why was I putting all of my hope on imbeciles. So I started to plan. I began to think of the attempts of predecessors…"

"You almost done?" I asked, my impatience getting the better of me. I mean I thought super villains only had these long speeches in movies. I was starting to think that when I did eventually see this guy he would have a handlebar mustache perfect for twirling and a black trench coat.

"My, my, my, surely you have learned patience in your travels my young friend."

"I'm NOT your friend."

"Fair enough. _The point is, _Mr. Jackson, I began to think about what worked and what didn't work in those other attempts. Do you know what I came up with, Mr. Jackson?"

"A wasted Saturday?"

"Tuesday actually, but no. I came up with you. You see, in both wars, you played a large part in their failures."

"I would hardly call them failures."

"Perspective is everything, I suppose. Anyway, I realized there seemed to be something about you that had helped tip the scales. Well you and one other, Jason Grace, actually."

"What do you have to say about Jason?" I fought against my chains. It really hurt, but I could care less. Whoever this creep was he could not talk about Jason.

"Bit of a touchy subject is it? Well yes, if you must know, I did have Jason killed. He…"

"How dare you? Jason's death had nothing to do with you!"

"Quite the contrary, is death has everything to do with me." I could hear a smile in his voice; it made me sick.

"But that's despite the point. I'm experiencing quite the problem. Before I move ahead with my plans, I simply must insist upon your death as well, but," his tone turned very sad, "you are not the easiest half-blood to kill. Obviously drowning is out of the question, and probably burning as well. Guns certainly won't work and I've crossed out any sort of chemical… Yes quite the quandary. Really that just leaves us with the old fashioned sword, but then the question becomes _where_? You know what I mean of course…"

"I would never tell you!"

"I thought you might say that… Oh well, I suppose that's your prerogative."

"Wait, you're just going to let me go?" Again, he laughed.

"Of course not! No, no, that would be a bit counterproductive don't you think? No, no, no. In a little bit I'll send in one of my friends, I'm sure you will find her _most_ convincing."

"Nothing will ever make me tell you."

"Oh we both know that's not true! Regardless, Mr. Jackson, know this. You will not be stopping me. This time you _will_ fail. At best, it will delay me, but that's at very best."

Then stopped speaking and I got the sense that he was gone. All I could do was sit there in the dark, slightly hopeless and very much alone.

_Well another chapter for you. And yes, a certain Mr. Grace really is dead. I have NOTHING against the character, it just worked better for my story for him to be dead… Lots of love, J-B _


End file.
